Gift needed this class to graduate, to prove he could use some kind of weapon with accuracy, even if hewasjust a handler. It was part of the program. A key component to his ability to graduate. The school reasoned that handlers were often in the field to meet with their deadly counterparts. Gift wanted to be a good partner to Payton, wanted to prove he was worthy of the program even if he was only there due to circumstance.
Finally, Gift checked the time. It was ten past six. Had Aspen changed his mind? Should he leave? He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to learn. He wanted to prove himself. Why would Aspen say he was going to train him and then not show? He sighed, chewing his lip once more as he contemplated his limited options.
His eyes fell to the weapons case, pulse dancing. He slid a guilty look towards the door, then slowly made his way to the cages that made up one wall of the gym. He tried the door. It was still unlocked. With one final look at the gym doors, he opened the case and pulled the sai swords free of their cradle, once more testing the heft of them before twirling each one in his hand with a smile.
He played with them as he would the lightsaber he had in his closet, easily moving through each move from muscle memory. But after another moment, he stopped. This wasn’t going to help him pass the class. Sai swords were meant to be used in a very specific way. Gift had looked it up the night before.
He stopped playing around, remembering Aspen’s instructions, hooking his thumb around the curved part of the weapon and twirling it outward, then drawing it back to tuck the blade beneath his arm in one smooth motion. He couldn’t stop his excited giggle. He then tried with both blades at once. His heart hammered against his ribs as he executed it flawlessly.
Holy shit. Maybe he really could do this?
“Be careful with that.”
Gift sucked in a breath at the sharp tone, spinning around, furrowing a brow at the intruder. Park. Of course, it was Park. It was always him. Wherever Gift went, there he was. Gift hated how happy he was to see him, hated the way heat swept through him and the air turned electric. Being near Park tugged at something deep within him. Something dark and sinful and so deliciously wrong that it made him ache.
But no matter how much Gift longed to cross the room, to toss himself into Park’s arms and hope he picked up where they’d left off in his office yesterday, his stomach still sank. Park was there to take this away from Gift, too. He couldn’t have anything without someone else allowing him to have it, like he was a child. He wanted to scream with frustration. Even now, people were still making his decisions for him.
Had Park spent last night assuring Gift’s mother that he’d make sure Gift never finished the program? He hated how paranoid that sounded but, sometimes, people really were conspiring against him. His mother was notorious for pulling strings to put Gift exactly where she wanted him.
She thought Gift was incapable. A child. Ironically, tears pricked at the back of his eyes. But he wasn’t sad. He was bitter. Angry. Disheartened. He sure as hell wasn’t going to cry about it. Nothing would prove him unfit to his mother and Park more than Gift bursting into tears and begging Park to let him graduate.
Gift didn’t need his permission. Not exactly. He could do this on his own, but the only thing that would prove more frustrating than failing was passing with flying colors only to have his mother or Park swoop in once more and convince the powers that be that Gift was a bad risk.
Fuck.
Park let the heavy door slam shut behind him, the sound reverberating around the room, making Gift jump. He watched, heart in his throat, as Park trekked to the large padded mat in the center of the floor, giving Gift an expectant look. He heaved a sigh, chest tight as he forced himself to meet Park in the middle, legs heavy.
Park smelled good. He smelledsogood. Like spice and orange and something earthy. It had Gift’s dick taking notice. Was it normal to have this kind of reaction to someone’s scent? Was it normal to want to grab Park and bury his face in his neck even though he was mad at him?
He clenched his hands around the handles of the swords, trying to get a hold of himself before he did something stupid, like rub his face over every inch of Park’s body, scenting him like a cat.
“Hi,hia,” Gift said quietly, not sure what else he could say.
Gift itched to touch him, hold him, drop to his knees and taste him just as he’d done yesterday.
“Hi,ouen,” Park said with the barest hint of a smile.
The fondness of Park’s tone knocked Gift off-kilter. Why did Park seem so happy to see him? Did he just enjoy ruining things for Gift? He’d hoped after yesterday something would have changed between them, that Gift would feel like his feet were on solid ground. But no. Just like always, being with Park left him feeling adrift.
Gift had always thought falling in love would feel good. The movies led him to believe it wassupposedto be romantic and sweet. But, so far, it just made Gift feel like shit. Like someone dangling a carrot in front of him that he’d never quite reach. A sexy carrot with rumpled hair and workout clothes that looked soft to the touch. Gift ached to find out if they were.
He wanted to whine in frustration knowing he couldn’t just reach out and touch him. Because Park wasn’t his despite the cozy boyfriend aesthetic he currently embodied.
“What are you doing here?” Gift asked when Park said nothing more. He lowered his gaze to the floor before he did something stupid like drop to his knees again. Especially since he didn’t know whether he’d be down there to beg or to blow him again. “Are you coming to tell me I can’t train with Aspen?” he asked, voice docile.
Park sighed, putting his finger under Gift’s chin and tipping his head up before quietly saying, “No, I came to tell you that I told Aspen I would train you myself.”
Gift blinked at him stupidly, his brain attempting to process his words with Park’s hand still on his face.
“What? Why?” he cried, narrowing his eyes at Park. “Is this just so you can sabotage me? Is this some plot you cooked up with my mo—”
Gift whined as Park ducked his head, capturing Gift’s lips in a kiss meant to silence him. Even so, he couldn’t stop his hands from fisting in Park’s t-shirt. Gift was right—itwassoft. He sighed beneath Park’s lips, opening for him to sweep his tongue inside. He tasted like toothpaste and lip balm. When Park finally broke the kiss, Gift swayed back into his space, dizzy and half-hard.
Park’s hands cupped Gift’s cheeks as he looked him in the eyes. “I’m not trying to sabotage you,ouen. I’m trying to help you. Aspen seems…adequate at his job, but, frankly, him spending the next hour with his hands all over you is just not something I’ll allow.”
Gift’s eyelids fluttered as he processed Park’s statement, noting his suddenly red ears and shifting gaze. Gift’s jaw dropped as the pieces slid into place. “Wait. Are you…are you jealous of Aspen, P’?” he asked, unable to hide his delight.
“Of course not.” Park scoffed as if the idea was absurd. “What do I have to be jealous of?”
